Having a few problems with overheating, is there a maximum safe operating temp quoted by lotus?
Don’t know what Lotus quote, but once you into the 95+ teratory, your in trouble.Simon (S)
Guys, I assume that you are referring to the Exige coolant temperature, if so the following is from the Exige owner�s handbook, the gist repeated in case you do not have a copy.Coolant may exceed 100 Celsius, at 104 the cooling fan cuts in, at 110 the display flashes to draw your attention to monitoring the temperature. The system is pressurized so the coolant boiling point is 120 Celsius, only if the temperature approaches this level need there be any cause for concern. At this temperature the engine should be left to tick over and the temperature monitored, if it continues to rise, switch the engine off and seek qualified assistance. Any disbeliever�s please turn to page 26 of the Exige owners manual.Hope this alleviates your worries.RegardsLogic.
I hate to diss-agree, but if the water temp get’s to 110C then I will put �100 that the HG will not last much longer.The level of expansion at 110C is enough to permenently change the loading on the head bolts, thus the clamp force applied to the head after this will not be what it was.If you remove the bolts and measure them, you will note that they will have been streached to over their elastic limit. The Rover overhall manual desribes this and gives the max lenghts before scrapping them.Water temp is the single biggest cause of HGF there is with the K, keep it under control and you will not have a problem, run it at 100+C and you will have problems.Simon (S)
As heat appears to be our enemy, and Lotus, Rover and personal experience seem to confilct, has anyone come up with a way of getting the fan to cut in earlier - 98 degrees or so?
Easy enough,Just get one of those Revotech remote fan switches.Cut it into the rad return pipe, then cut off the relay it comes with and splice it into the fan trigger lead from the ECU.Set the switch to come on by letting the car stand at idle, wait for it to warm up so that the rad is hot all over and the stack is approching 90C, then turn the switches adjuster till the fan comes on, then a little further and leave it there.This should ensure that the fan comes on before the engine temp starts to significantly rise (ie. as soon as the rad stopps working too well (cause your not moving fast enough).Simon (S)[This message has been edited by SimonS (edited 04 March 2003).]